Four Ways to Find Ireland’s Viking History
byMaria Lisella/
今年,爱尔兰引起了人们的兴趣。北美游客的速度比去年6月高至21%。
Overall, visitors to Ireland grew by 4.2 percent in the first half of 2017, to almost 4.6 million compared to the same period in 2016. June was also the best ever month of June for tourism to Ireland, with almost 1 million arrivals – an increase of 8 percent on June 2016.
Yet, if you were to ask travelers about Ireland’s Viking history, they might be hard pressed to link the dots.
好吧,这不是令人惊讶的because it is only been within the past 25 years that a commissioned effort was made in Dublin to unearth what turned out to be vast quantitites of Viking relics, many of which are now on display at the National Museum in Dublin.
起初,维京人停留在爱尔兰海岸20英里以内,他们以爱尔兰修道院为目标。最终,他们在都柏林(名为杜布林),科克和沃特福德(名为Vadrefjord)中建立了更永久的定居点。
Jack Burtchaell, historian and tour guide in Waterford says, “Yes, the Vikings attacked monasteries,” says Burtchaell, “but as for bloodthirsty pillaging, well, basically, they were no worse than the natives.”
维京人并非没有敏感的一面,乌尔恩斯风格就是证据。这是源自挪威南部厄恩斯湖教堂(Urnes Stave Church)的一种装饰风格,这是对纽格兰奇(Newgrange)和无数传统珠宝等地发现的凯尔特人漩涡的北欧答案。
With the increasing popularity of Ireland, it is showcased on a long list of tour operators’ portfolios to name a few: Brendan Vacations, CIE Tours, Collette, Contiki, Insight, Lynott, Shamrocker Adventures, Tauck, Trafalgar all skirt or stay close to Ireland’s Viking settlements.
软木
County Cork, Ireland’s biggest county known to natives as the “People’s Republic of Cork,” sprawls its fertile farmland and wild peninulas and islands over the southwest. Its first Viking encounter took place in 820 when its monastery came under attack. Twenty-six years later, the first Viking settlement followed, but they were vanquished and reappeared in the 12th century. Until the 1970s, the evidence was thin. Two major archaeological excavations at Skiddy’s Castle, off North Main Street, and at the medieval college by Christ Church off South Main Street indicated that there was a little settlement
Dublin
Kildare Street in County Dublin is a direct route to Dublinia. The Viking Splash Tour, a land and water tour takes sightseeing to new heights – aboard the amphibious world war two vehicles that travel to the newly developed Grand Canal docklands for a peek at U2’s recording studio.
The Viking designed Cross of Cong, now housed in the National Museum of Ireland is a great example of Norse design that is often defined by interlacing animals – snakes and greyhounds – a motif that marks a handful of priceless historical relics.
Waterford
Vikings settled in what is now Ireland’s oldest city, Waterford in 914. The Viking Triangle in the city-center is home to a trio of museums known as Waterford Treasures: Reginald’s Tower, and longboat, one of the famous Viking ships found at Roskilde in Denmark is here; and finally Waterford’s Medieval Museum.
“The Vikings influenced design, seafaring, shipbuilding and they plugged Ireland into a trading network that stretched from Iceland to Turkey and the Baltic.” According to Jack Burtchaell, historian and tour guide in Waterford.
Wexford
The Vikings spent 300 years making Wexford a true Viking town. They worked as traders, and eventually became allies to the local Gaelic kings, and hired themselves out as mercenaries. National Heritage Park in Ferrycrrig is a good place to get a close look at reconstructed longboats, ring forts and Viking homes on 35 acres of woodland.